My Favorite Mistake
by EvenAngelsFall22
Summary: The days before their first anniversary will either make or break them. Naley oneshot.


Title: My Favorite Mistake

Summary: The days before their first anniversary are either going to make or break Nathan and Haley. An AU one shot. Fluff and angst, so we'll call it flangst.

Author's Note: This is my first _One Tree Hill _fiction, so I'm extremely interested in what anyone has to say about it, good or bad. Done from both Haley and Nathan's point of views which hopefully doesn't confuse anyone. In this, Haley never went on tour and Nathan didn't go to High Flyers. Oh, and the title is taken from the song of the same name by Sheryl Crow.

Disclaimer: I don't own _One Tree Hill _or its characters.

Feedback is never required but always appreciated!

* * *

Nathan's playing like crap tonight. He's doing so poorly that even I can tell, and well, that can't be good for the team. I haven't given up on him yet though, it's only the end of the second quarter and I'm confident he can make a comeback. He has to. 

At least, that's what I say to Mouth, who's sitting next to me and no doubt getting tired of my nails digging into his arm every time the ball lands in Nathan's hands. He's broadcasting the game so of course, when he asks for a comment from "23's wife" I smile and do what I do best.

I tell him Nathan's just off to a slow start. He'll come back in the second half and turn everything around. He'll be the king of the game.

I'm lying through my teeth. Nathan will not come back after halftime and be in superstar mode. He will not suddenly care about the game and he will not save the day.

He hasn't cared about basketball for weeks now and it's my fault. He would never say that, not to me and not to anyone else, but it's the truth. He's not going to High Flyers because of me.

He's giving up on his dreams because I gave up on mine.

And that, just sucks.

That's not how I want to remember our first year of marriage. The year we both gave up on what matters most to us because that's not how I see it at all.

Not all the time anyways.

The buzzer signals the end of the second quarter and I'm on my feet cheering like everyone else, trying to avoid the looks coming my way from both Peyton and Brooke. The looks that clearly say _what the hell is going on?_

One look at the scoreboard shows me that we're losing by 25 points and I can't remember the last time I saw that. It's almost funny, because you think Lucas and Jake, heck, even Tim would be picking up the slack but they're so confused by Nathan's increasingly apparent _fuck it all_ attitude that they're losing their focus as well.

I don't know how I do it but all of a sudden I find myself standing in the locker room, being stared at by the entire basketball team and Whitey. Whitey's laughing at me and I don't care. He knows I've got a reason to be here though and he just nods silently at Nathan who pulls me into Whitey's office.

"Keep playing like that and people are going to think I'm keeping you up too late at night." I open with a joke but Nathan looks at me like he forgot how to laugh and I sigh, walk over to him, and put my hands on either side of his face.

"What's going on out there?"

He shrugs. "I'm not feeling it tonight." He doesn't look me in the eyes.

"Bull-shit." Now his eyes find mine because Haley James Scott doesn't swear unless she's pissed and guess what? I am.

"Save it Haley," he snaps at me and I step back. "I don't need you coming in here and--"

"Yeah, you do," I interrupt. I cross my arms over my stomach and I try my best to glare at him. "Nathan, don't do this. Don't bring our problems into the game."

"I thought our problem was the game." It's a low blow and he knows it immediately, guilt flashes through his eyes and he looks away.

I let it slide though, because we have enough to fight about as it is and I don't want to add to it. I approach him once more and I force him to sit so I can sit in his lap.

"You need to win this game Nathan." My voice is quiet but I know he hears me. "And I don't mean this in a 'the team needs you to win' kind of way, I mean it in the 'Nathan Scott is a better basketball player than this" kind of way. Because you are, and I haven't seen you play with your heart in a long time and I miss that. I miss seeing the look you send me every time you make a 3 point shot, or the wink you give me after getting away with shoving a guy. I miss the look you get when your team pulls ahead and when you win." I lean closer to make sure he hears the next part clearly. "I miss the post-game celebrating."

His eyebrows quirk at this and he chuckles. It's the most sincere sound I've heard from him all day. "It sounds like you want me to do this more for you than for me."

I shrug and flip my hair over my left shoulder. "Maybe." I'm surprised as he leans forward and kisses my nose. "So what do you say Scott? Going to go make the wife happy?"

He rolls his eyes at me and stands us both up. "I'll see what I can do." He kisses me again, and let me say, it's so much better than a kiss on the nose that I'm disappointed that he has another 2 quarters to play.

I watch dutifully as he joins the rest of the team and they head back out onto the floor, ignoring Lucas's smirk and Tim's stupid comment as they leave.

I take my seat next to Mouth again just in time to see the beginning of the next quarter. Sure enough, it's a new and improved Nathan and he's got the ball and is heading down the court. His aim is dead on and it's three points for the Ravens and while I smile as he looks at me and cheer his name, I'm still obsessing over one tiny detail from our conversation.

"_I'll see what I can do." _

It shouldn't bother me, it really shouldn't, but why couldn't he have just said 'yes"?

I shake my head, ashamed that I've become one of _those girls_. The ones who overanalyze every single sentence that comes out of their boyfriend's, or _husband's_ mouths.

Besides, I think as Nathan steals the ball again and is back racing down the court, he does make me happy.

He does.

_

* * *

__Game winning sex rocks._

It's the only thought going through my head as Haley collapses on top of me and I can feel her heart pounding next to mine. I'm not sure what possessed her to come barging into the locker room at halftime but I've gotta admit, it was sexy as hell. Haley's always sexy though, whether she's loading the dishwasher or kicking my ass into gear.

There are no words though, for how sexy she was when she jumped into my arms after we won the game and whispered things to me I never dreamed Haley James could say.

Because Haley James wouldn't say them. Haley James Scott on the other hand, well, apparently she would.

"Mmm," she sighs contentedly against my chest before pressing her lips over a spot I know she's already marked. "You should win games more often."

"Damn straight," I say, threading my hand through her hair and pulling her up so I can kiss her. I meant it to be a kiss goodnight but it's clear Haley has other ideas, as her tongue twists and turns and her hands move lower again.

_Yeah, game winning sex definitely rocks._

She's out of bed before me the next morning and I still don't know why she gets up so damn early on a Saturday. I look over at the alarm clock and it's not even 9:30 but she's up and I'm willing to bet she's already showered and dressed.

I roll over onto my back and stare at the ceiling as I try to locate her in the apartment by listening. It takes a few seconds but I hear her. She's in the living room. She's singing.

Haley only sings when she thinks I can't hear her. Gone are the days of her waking me up with stupid TV themes or leaving me voicemails in song. She won't sing when she's making dinner and if I wanted to hear her singing in the shower, I'd have to be in there with her.

I can't believe it, but I'd give anything to wake up to her standing over me and singing the theme song to _Full House_.

I know I should get up but the minute she hears me moving around, she'll stop so I stay where I am and just listen. I haven't figured it out yet, if she's trying to punish me for her not getting on that damn tour bus or if she thinks that her singing reminds me of Chris but I don't ask her. Honestly, I'm not sure how I would react either way, I just know it would end up in a fight. I don't want to start another day with a fight. Instead, I just make a lot of noise while getting out of bed so she knows I'm awake and sure enough, the singing stops.

"Hey." Coming up behind Haley, I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her ear. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Homework." She turns around and loops her arms around my neck. "I didn't get a chance to study last night."

"It's Saturday," I complain, dragging her over to the couch and turning on the television. "We're supposed to be watching cartoons and eating cereal all morning. Who does homework?" Sure enough, I find an old Bugs Bunny cartoon and throw the remote out of her reach.

"I picked up three extra shifts at the diner this weekend on top of my two scheduled and I've got tutoring to do Monday before school. If I don't study now, it won't get done at all." Haley sounds determined but she makes no move to leave my arms and as we lay there watching anvils being dropped on the Roadrunner I can't help thinking that it's been too long since we've just hung out like this, no basketball, no music, no fighting.

Haley seems to agree because she makes a big production of rolling over so we're facing each other. "So…." her voice trails off for a moment and I fight the urge to lean in and kiss her but she reads my mind anyway. "Wanna make out?"

I don't have time to answer because her lips are on mine in the next instance and it's not like I was going to say no anyways.

So much for homework.

It's almost two hours later when I finish my shower and Haley's in the kitchen making lunch. "Need any help?" I ask. She always says no and I can't say I blame her, the first and only time I ever helped her in the kitchen I broke three dishes, burned the macaroni and cheese and then somehow broke the oven.

She rolls her eyes as she points at me with the spoon in her hand. "Thanks, but no. You can use this time to start the next chapter of _Catcher in the Rye _because the test for it is on Friday."

I'd argue but I know there's no point. Haley's been known to withhold sex if I bomb on tests and I'm not about to ruin the weekend. "Okay," I agree, picking up her copy of the book from a nearby table. A stack of papers falls from underneath it and I see my name on one of them when I bend down to pick them up.

"Hales, what's this?"

"A book?" Her back is to me as I corner her in the kitchen.

"This." She knows I'm angry and she's slow in turning around. Her smile's gone by the time she sees what I'm holding.

"Oh."

"What is it?" I ask again.

She nibbles on her lower lip. She always does that when she's buying time before talking. It's usually cute, but not right now. "A letter asking that you be reconsidered for High Flyers and letters of recommendation from Dan and Whitey," she says quickly as she edges her way around me and walks out of the kitchen.

"Why?" I demand, following her. "Why did you do this? Did my dad put you up to it? Whitey? Luke? Who talked you into it?"

"Nobody talked me into it, I did it myself." She's pacing the living room at a record speed and I get dizzy watching her.

"Why would you do that Haley? I don't want to go to High Flyers, I've told you that!" She walks past me and I grab her elbow to keep her in one place.

"Yes you do!" she yells back at me. "For gods sake Nathan, yes you do! I'm so sick of this. I'm sick of you blowing games because you're trying to prove that basketball isn't your life but be real, it is. You love the damn game and you deserve to go to that camp more than anyone I know! It's obvious you're not going to admit you want to go so I took it upon myself to make sure you could still go when you finally got your head out of your ass!"

"I'm not going," I repeat coldly.

"Yes you are!" she cries. "You have to go Nathan, please. You want to go and I want you to go. God, I went to Dan _on my own_ and begged him to help me get you back into the program. We both know you'll regret not going." I don't say anything and she takes a deep breath. "Please Nathan." Her voice breaks as she takes a small step towards me. "I don't want to be the reason you give up on your dream."

"You mean the way I'm the reason you gave up yours?" The words are out before I know it and she recoils like she's been slapped. I know it's uncalled for but I'm pissed so I keep going. "I mean, that's what this is all about, right? I made you give up the tour and you haven't touched your music since. Now you're just trying to take the higher ground here so you can feel less guilty about wanting to get back into the music. Well go ahead Haley, sing your heart out, go fuck Chris if you want, because I'm done feeling bad for asking you to stay here with me."

"Please stop," she whispers but I'm on a roll. All of the pent up anger of the last six months is coming out.

"No, it's fine Haley. I'll go to High Flyers if that's what you want. I'll go play basketball all damn day and you can sing with Chris if that's what you want but what happens then? You think that's going to fix our problems? You think that's going to save us? It sure as hell can't ruin us because we're ruining each other already."

I can't say I'm surprised when she turns around and walks out. She shuts the door quietly instead of slamming it. Such a Haley thing to do.

And what do I do? I throw a vase against the wall. Because it's a Nathan thing to do.

_

* * *

__It sure as hell can't ruin us because we're ruining each other._

I'm shaking when I leave the apartment and it's only when I get to the sidewalk that I realize I have no idea where I'm going. I didn't even grab my purse or my keys before I left and there's no way I'm going back in there now.

So I walk. I'll end up somewhere eventually.

That didn't go like it was supposed to, not at all. I know it's my fault for leaving the papers in the living room and well, for going behind his back to get the papers in the first place but I honestly think it was the right thing to do. Basketball is and was his first love, that's a fact I can't and won't ignore and I don't want to. It's one of the things I love most about him. And watching him at the game last night I was surer than ever that I was making the right decision in telling him to go.

Apparently though, I was wrong.

My feet take me to Peyton's house and I don't bother knocking because no one else does.

"Oh my God, Haley!" Peyton's off her bed the instant I'm in her doorway. "What happened, are you okay?" Her hand touches my face and that's when I realize I'm crying.

"I messed up," I whisper. In one long tearful rant I spill the entire story to her.

"He's right," I conclude, using the back of my hand to brush away the tears. "We're making each other miserable." It's a hard sentence to say. The words sound strange and my voice doesn't sound like mine.

"That's not true and you know it," Peyton says. "If anything Haley, the two of you make each other better. Nathan's a far better person now than he ever was before you. The two of you balance each other out."

"What if we made a mistake?" I close my eyes and fall back against her bed. "What if everyone was right when they said we shouldn't have gotten married."

"You don't believe that." Peyton sounds part annoyed and part teasing. "You guys are going to fight every now and then, and yeah, your first year wasn't exactly smooth sailing but you can't convince me that even a small part of you doesn't think you shouldn't be married to Nathan because I know better. The two of you were meant to get married, it didn't matter when."

"He's so angry Peyton." I open my eyes and look at her again. "I don't know how we're going to get past this one."

"Well, can you get past your anger?" Peyton asks logically.

I shrug slightly. "I'm hurt, I'm not angry," I say truthfully. Being hurt isn't any easier though, in fact, I wish I was angry, because then I would know how to get over it but I don't say this to her.

Peyton leans over and lays her head on my shoulder. "You two are gonna work this out Haley," she promises. "Just wait, Monday at school Brooke and I are going to be rolling our eyes at how sickeningly sweet you're behaving."

"Promise?"

Peyton laughs and hooks her pinky around mine. "Pinky swear. Now come on, dry your tears and let's go do something. I'm starving."

It's late when I finally force myself to go back home. Well, Peyton dropped me off despite my protests and it's starting to rain so I have no choice but to go in. The apartment is dark and empty as I let myself on so I feel around on the wall next to me for the light switch and turn it on before putting the spare key back in its hiding spot outside the door. I'm not really surprised as I see the mess on the floor, the glass shards and broken flowers, because I heard the crash as they hit the wall when I left but I don't move to clean it up. I walk past it on the way into the bathroom, deciding a long hot shower is exactly what I need to end this day.

I'm surprised to see Nathan sitting on the couch when I walk out of the steamy bathroom and we lock eyes for a moment before I grab my history book from the table and head into the bedroom, shutting the door all but a tiny crack behind me.

I'm happy to say that broken glass is cleared away and there's a brand new vase full of daisies sitting in its place.

Quickly I change into my usual pajamas and crawl into bed, determined to get through this chapter on the civil rights movement if it kills me before I fall asleep. I can hear faint sounds coming from the living room and it sounds like Nathan's playing video games. The tension and the silence is almost too much to bear but I still think its for the best now, the silence anyways. We'd only end up fighting if we talked and Lord knows we've done enough of that already today.

The words in the book blend together and I find myself thinking less and less about the March on Washington and more about what Nathan said earlier. Had he been right? Did I want him to go to High Flyers so I would feel less guilty about singing?

I'm more tired than I thought because the next thing I know, Nathan's lifting my head slightly to remove the book from underneath it and turning off the lamp next to me. The clock says its nearly 2 am and I have no idea how long I've been sleeping. Nathan turns the rest of the lights off and the bed creaks slightly as he climbs into bed next to me. I try to stay still but I know he already knows I'm awake now and it's only a matter of minutes before he reaches for me.

His index finger traces the 23 on my back softly, over and over until I turn over and face him the darkness. We stare at each other silently for a few minutes and I'm waiting for him to say something because I have no idea what to say. In an instant his arms are around me and I'm crushed against him, my head buried in his chest.

"We're not ruining each other," he whispers finally, his lips moving against my hair. "I never should have said that, I didn't mean it, and I never meant to hurt you."

I close my eyes tightly but the tears fall hotly onto his skin anyway. "It's okay," I whisper back. "I'm sorry too."

"We'll talk about it later," Nathan decides. "I should have heard you out before jumping to conclusions."

"I should have talked to you before doing anything."

His arms tighten around me and he places a kiss onto the top of my head. "We'll be okay Hales," he says. He sounds so confident and for a second it makes me want to cry. How can he be that sure that we're going to be okay when I'm still worried that we won't be?

It's late, I'm tired, and I've got a 15 hour work day at the café tomorrow. It's much easier to try and believe what he says and not press the issue. Instead of saying anything of the sort I just nod and press a kiss into his shoulder.

"Yeah, we will." I stay in his embrace until I hear him snore lightly, signaling his sleep and then I roll back over to my side of the bed and face away from him.

"Well be okay," I whisper again. I'm trying to believe it.

_

* * *

_Haley's not in school today. It's third period when I find out she's not here because no one's seen her. I try calling her three times and when she doesn't answer I ditch school and head home. The whole way home I'm trying to convince myself that everything's okay but something had to have happened for Haley to miss school because she had a test second hour that I know she wouldn't have missed just to sleep in. I mean, when has Haley ever skipped school on her own? 

Things have been a little tense since this weekend. We've gotten past the initial argument, and we're talking to each other and for the most part we're okay, but I'm not an idiot, I hurt her Saturday morning and I know it's going to take more than 4 days for her to forgive me completely because I'm not exactly over her going my back with the High Flyers. Our first anniversary is 3 days away and I'm hoping it'll be a happy one.

None of this matters now though as I park the car next to the apartment and head inside.

"Hales?" I call as the front door flies open. "Haley?" The bedroom door is open and once I reach it I see her lying on my side of the bed and still in her pajamas, pretty much the same way I had left her earlier that morning when I left for practice. "Hales, what's wrong, are you sick?"

She opens her eyes as I sit down next to her. "What are you doing home?" she asks. "You have a test today." Her eyes are red and puffy and I can tell she was crying earlier but here she is, worrying about my calculus test.

"Fuck the test Haley, what's going on?"

She sighs and points to the nightstand next to the bed. I follow her gaze and swear I'm having a heart attack.

A million thoughts run through my head as I stare at what's obviously a pregnancy test, the biggest thought of all being _oh fuck_. I can't say that to Haley though, because she's upset and I'm trying to come up with something supportive to say, and I need to comfort her but all I can think about is how we're too young, there's not enough money and our future has just completely changed in that split second.

"It's negative," Haley says quickly and now I'm more confused than ever. Negative means she's not pregnant right? But she's upset and why would she be upset over this?

"And you're upset." It's probably not the smartest thing I could say but I'm still trying to figure this out and for my heart to stop pounding.

"Yes, no…I don't know, I'm just…" Haley looked down at her hands. "Last night I was at work and I looked at the calendar and I realized that I was late and not just a day or two, no, I'm almost two weeks late and my mind just started working overtime and by the time I got home I was convinced I was pregnant and I thought taking that test this morning would just be a formality because the more I thought about it, the more I _felt_ pregnant."

"Why didn't you wake me up when you got home last night?" She moves so her head is laying in my lap and my hands automatically go to her hair, smoothing it down a few times before moving down to rub her back.

"So we could both worry about it?" I can't see her face but I know she's smiling slightly. "Nathan, I saw your face just now, you were scared out of your mind. Trust me, I was scared enough for the both of us, there was no reason to say anything until I knew for sure."

"I still don't understand Hales." And I don't. I can't tell if she's sad or if she's relieved and I'm not even sure how I feel about it yet. "We haven't really talked about it yet, but do you want a baby? I mean, we're still in high school and you're on birth control so I thought-"

"No, I know it's too soon for that. I know we're not ready for anything like that, but…" her voice trailed off again as she sat up and faced me. "I just thought that maybe it would have been a good thing…that maybe something good would have come from this year." She puts her head down and twists her hands nervously as her words sink in.

"Haley." I don't know what I'm going to say yet but I hope it ends up making sense and doesn't upset her anymore. "Hales, come on." I tilt her chin up so she's looking at me and I smile at her. "I know we've got our problems and I know this hasn't been an easy week for us but so much good has come from this year already."

"You think?"

"I know it. You do too, you're just not seeing it right now." I slide my arm around her waist and pull her closer as she leans her head on my shoulder. I take her hand and kiss knuckles first and then her wedding ring.

"You're right," she agrees, kissing my ring in turn. We're corny as hell, you can't argue that but I don't care. She smiles and leans over to kiss my mouth and I waste no time in pushing her back against the pillows.

She pushes me away and giggles. "You have a calc test," she reminds me, sitting back up.

"So? You missed your government test." I shrug. "There's no point in going back to school now so we may as well enjoy our day off, right?" She doesn't say anything, she just rolls her eyes and I know there's a sarcastic remark on the tip her tongue about me looking for any excuse to blow of school. "Come on Hales." I roll my eyes back at her. "Let's go have some fun. Remember fun? I know you do."

"Alright," she relents, getting out of bed. "As long as fun doesn't end up with me throwing up all over your dad again."

"That's my girl. And no promises."

"Mmhmm. I'm going to go shower and get dressed and then we can go." She grabs a few things from around the room and heads towards the door. A few seconds later she pokes her head back into the bedroom. "You're not even going to ask to join me?" She asks with a shake of her head. "Geez, I guess we really are an old married couple." She sticks her tongue out at me and laughs as I chase her into the bathroom.

* * *

Well, we made it. One year ago today Nathan asked me to marry him and I did. It's still a little surreal and there are times I can't believe we actually did it but all I have to do is look down at my ring to see that I am in fact, Mrs. Haley Scott. As cheesy as it sounds, I still smile every time I realize that. 

I'm looking at my ring right now. By some cruel twist of irony, instead of spending the day with my husband I'm stuck at school taking an English exam and I've got two hours of tutoring after that. He left school early today without telling me but I have a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with us so I let it slide. I glance at the clock for the fortieth time this hour and realize I've got just under three hours to go this stupid day before I can go home. I sigh, look at my ring once more, and finish my test with a goofy grin on my face no less.

It's almost five-thirty when I finally get home and Nathan stops me before I can even get inside. "Put this on," he instructs, holding out a blindfold. I must give him a weird look because, well, it's weird, but he goes on to explain that I can't see anything he's set up until I go change my clothes. It's then that I realize he's dressed up. He's wearing the dark blue shirt I got him for his birthday and I can't help but admire it on him before I'm thrown into darkness as he slips the red silk around my eyes and ties it in back. "Where did you even get a blindfold from?" I ask as he leads me into the house and towards our bedroom.

"Brooke."

"Oh my God, ew!" I try not to think of how many guys in our school have probably been tied up with the same fabric that's touching my face and am quick to rip it off when Nathan says its okay. "So, formal attire?" I ask.

"Check the closet," is all he says as he winks and leaves me alone in our room.

In the closet is a green dress I had seen while shopping with Peyton on Saturday. I should have known something was going on in her head when she insisted I try it on despite my protests that I had nowhere and no reason to wear it. I slide it off of the hanger and over my head and it fits perfectly. Peyton's a good friend, there are heels to match and I step into them before heading over the mirror and quickly touch up my make up and brush my hair.

"Can I come out?" I call through the closed door and Nathan yells back that he still needs 5 minutes. It makes me smile, he's gone to a lot of trouble for tonight apparently and I use the extra 5 minutes searching for a suitable lip gloss, trying to remember which Nathan likes better, the cherry or watermelon flavor.

The bedroom door opens finally. "Sorry about that," Nathan says as he smiles at me. "You look great."

"Thanks." I smile and do a little spin before reaching for his hand. "You're looking pretty hot yourself, whoever picked out that shirt has great taste."

"Yeah I like her," he answers. "So, since we have the party tomorrow night at Tric, I thought we could just stay in tonight, and so I cooked dinner for us."

I try but I can't keep the look of panic and horror off of my face and Nathan laughs as he squeezes my hand. "Don't worry Hales, no fires, nothing broken, and I swear you're going to like it.."

"Well how can I not?" I ask as he leads me back into the living room. "Oh!" Nathan's gone all out for tonight, with candles and flowers spread out through the living room and kitchen. He's moved the table into the center of the living room and it's perfectly set with crystal and china I know isn't ours. It's beautiful and I can't believe he actually went to all of this trouble.

"Whoa, I can't believe it. Is Haley Scott actually speechless?"

"Shush," I say, smacking him in the arm lightly. "Nathan, it's perfect. I can't believe you did all of this for tonight. It's just--" It's then that I see a new addition to our living room. Standing in the corner is a piano and not just any piano, but the one from Karen's. The one I played my first song for Nathan on. I let go of Nathan's hand as I walk over to it and trail my fingers over the familiar ivory. When I look back at Nathan I know there are tears in my eyes.

"Karen said it was time she got a new one," Nathan explains as he walks over to me. "I couldn't let her throw this one out and I knew you'd love to have it and I thought maybe…" He stops and looks at me. "It's okay isn't it? I mean, I know you haven't played in awhile but I thought this would get you to. If not, I mean, if you don't think--"

I throw myself onto him before he can finish his sentence, wrapping my arms around his neck as I kiss him and it's very reminiscent of our first kiss. "It's perfect, I love it, don't you dare take it back," I whisper when I finally pull back. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he says, leaning down to kiss me again. "Ready for dinner?"

Dinner consists of macaroni and cheese for him and prime rib for me and I think it's incredibly cute and sweet and every other corny adjective you could use and Peyton and Brooke will use when I tell him about this tomorrow and I don't care. It is cute and sweet. I'm pretty sure we'll end up switching plates halfway through though and I'm okay with that. We sit down to eat and he tells me about his day and I fill him on what he missed at school. Underneath the table Nathan's foot keeps brushing against mine. Every few minutes his foot reaches a little higher and every few minutes it gets harder and harder for to remember what I'm talking about. At one point, I actually stop talking altogether.

Needless to say, we don't finish dinner. Screw dessert. We barely even make it to the couch.

"Will you sing?" Nathan asks suddenly. I'm still trying to come down from our steamy little session and his question catches me off guardso I sit up and look at him. "Please?" he asks and I can't remember the last time I sang in front of him, let alone for him. He reaches down behind the couch and hands me my guitar, which I take with raised eyebrows. Clearly, he's planned this. I take it from him and strum it experimentally. The sound is almost foreign to my ears, but comforting as well.

"What do you want me to play?" I ask, still strumming. I look up at him and smile.

"You know what I want you to play," he says, returning the smile and I can't help but giggle.

"Let's see…" I pick out the tune and begin singing. "_My stupid mouth has got me in trouble, I said too much again to a date over dinner yesterday. And I could see she was offended, she said well anyways_---"

"Hales!" He pushes me slightly and I giggle again.

"That's totally our song Nathan," I argue. He gives me another look and I turn to the guitar again, playing another melody.

"_We've got the afternoon, you've got this room for two. One thing I'm left to do, discover me, discovering you_…" It's not as weird as I thought it would be, singing to Nathan again and quite honestly, I've missed doing this and I'm happy he asked me to. We must be quite a sight to see right now I think as I keep singing. Our clothes are strewn about the room, Nathan's totally naked, and I'm not exactly covered myself, save for the guitar in my lap. But it's us, and it's perfect.

I finish the song, set the computer down, and lean over and kiss his nose. "Thank you," I say, settling myself back in his arms.

"For what?"

"Everything. I miss singing to you." I close my eyes and lean my head back against him. "I'll probably do it more often from now on."

"Sounds good to me," he agrees. We're silent for a few seconds before he speaks again. "Do you think we made a mistake?"

"By not having dessert? Absolutely."

"By getting married."

"What?" I jerk up and turn to face him. "Where did that come from?" It's the last thing I want to talk about, especially today, but why would he bring that up?

"My dad stopped by again today, offered to have annulment papers drawn up again if it was what I wanted."

"You told him no, right?" Of course he told him no, he had to have.

"I told him to go to hell," Nathan admits. "That we were married and nothing was going to change that and just because his marriage was miserable didn't mean mine was going to be."

I'm ashamed to say I breathe a sigh of relief but I do. "I'm sorry," I say. "Dan's an ass, we both know that, but he's still your dad."

"Yeah, lucky me." Nathan rolls his eyes. "But he did his job, he got me thinking, and now I'm asking you. Do you think we made a mistake?"

"We've made a few mistakes," I say honestly. "Like the tour and High Flyers, and yeah, maybe getting married so young was a mistake too." He tries to speak but I smile and hold a finger up to his lips. "We're young," I continue, still smiling. "We're allowed to make mistakes and it's the mistakes that make us who we are, and you know what? Marrying you Nathan? That's my favorite mistake of them all and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world." I move my finger and replace it with my own lips. He kisses me back and I'm thinking it's time for us to head into the bedroom.

Nathan's suddenly become a mind reader because in the following seconds he's carrying me towards the bedroom and putting me down on the bed.

"So what do ya say Hales?" He asks, stretching out next to me and picking up my hand, kissing my ring. "One more year?"

I smile back at him and kiss his own ring. "It's a nice place to start."

* * *

A.N./2: It's a little lengthy, if you made it all the way through, gold stars for you! Just wanted to throw in the disclaimer that I don't own the lyrics to the songs My Stupid Mouth and You're Body is a Wonderland, they belong to John Mayer. Anyways, reviews make me happy! 


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